Vegan Ice Cream Takes Internet by Storm

While delicious vegan ice cream is not news to the cruelty-free crowd, the rest of the internet discovered it this week after The Associated Press (AP) published a video, and accompanying text feature, to profile what it called “nice” cream. AP focused on several key players, including ice cream shops Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream and Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Co., ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, and New York’s iconic vegan eatery Blossom, to illustrate the expanded reach and acceptance of vegan ice cream in recent years. “We used to hide that we were vegan or say it just for the vegans who wanted to see it was for vegans,” Chloe’s CEO Michael Sloan explained. “Now we promote that it’s vegan.” Dena Wilmette, senior innovation and communications manager for ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s—which now sells an entire almond milk-based vegan line—echoed Sloan’s sentiment. “This is no longer just about a small group of people,” Wilmette said. “More and more people are adding these types of products into their lifestyle.” Blossom co-founder Ronen Seri said that public understanding about veganism has come a long way in the last decade. “‘Vegan’ used to be like a foreign word,” Seri said. “People used to think you were eating lettuce. We get so many people coming here who are not vegans at all and when they taste the food they’re like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know it could taste that good.’” Since going live on July 3, AP’s ice cream feature has been reposted by media outlets such as Michigan’s The Detroit Free Press, Massachusetts’ The Berkshire Eagle, Kansas’ The Topeka Capital-Journal, and California’s The Fresno Bee.